Duke  University  Libraries 


D03212070F 


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SENATE,  Feb.  16,  I860.— Laid  on  the  table,  and  ordered  to  be 
printed. 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Richmond,  Va.,  Feb.  15,  1S65. 

Tu  the  Senate  of  th"  ionj'edenite  States : 

In  partial  response  to  yonr  resolution  of  the  *24th 
ultimo,  I  herewith  transmit  coniMinnications  from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  and  the  Postmaster  General,  relative  to  the  number  of 
white  men  between  the  ages  of  1  >  and  45,  and  of  negroes,  wliose 
services  are  necessary  to  their  respective  Departments, 

The  Secretary  of  War  has  been  called  on  to  furnish  rejtorts  on  This 
subject  from  the  several  bureaux  s|>«'('ified  in  yonr  resolution;  which 
will  be  transmitted  when  received. 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 


COMMUNP NATION  FROM  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY. 

Confederate  States  of  Amekha, 
Navy  Dkpaktment, 

lUc/iinonil,  Feb.  7,   ]>i)5. 
To  ihf.  President : 

Sir: 

In  response  to  the  second  clause  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion of  the  Siiuate,  referred  by  you  to  this  Department  for  attention-:— 

"ResolvL'd,  Tliat  the  President  of  the  Confeds'rate  States  ot  Amer 
rica  be  respectlnll}'  re(|nested  fo  furnish  the  Senate — 

First — With  intbrmation  as  to  the  nuniber  of  white  men  bc^twceri 
the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  and  of  the  number  «»f  negroes, 
who,  in  addition  to  their  own  officers,  may  be  required  for  the  ne- 
cessary employments  and  pro|)er  dischaige  of  the  functions  (jf  the 
Departments  of  ]\Iedicin«',  of  the  Couauissary  General,  of  tlie  Qua.  - 
termaster  General,  of  the  Engineer,  of  the  Ordnance,  ami  ot  il-e 
Nitre  and  Mining  Bureaux. 

Secondly — A  like  estimate  as  to  the  Post  Office  aii'i  Xaw  De- 
partments. 

Thirdly — A  like  estimate  in  regard  to  the  rail  road  tr;iu>jioni,:ion 
of  the  country,  including  not  only  the  working,  but  the  et|uij)uient, 
jt^pairsand  construction,  in  his  consideration  ot  tije  numi/  r  r<-i[ui!ed 
for  such  transportation. 


Fourthly — To  specify  the  rail  roads,  if  there  be  any  such,  whose 
repairs  and  construction,  in  his  opinion,  will  be  necessary  for  military 
purposes,  and  ought  to  be  effected,  in  whole  or  in  part,  by  appro- 
priations from  the  confederate  treasury" — 

I  liave  the  lionor  to  suljniit  tlie  acconjpanying  statements  of  the  number 
of  white  meuj  artisans,  experts,  &c.  between  tlie  ages  of  eighteen 
and  forty-five,  and  of  the  number  of  negroes  "  required  for  thi)  ne- 
cessary employments  and  the  proper  discharge  of  the  functions  of 
the  Departments"  of  construction  and  rei»airs  of  vessels, 'boats,  &c.; 
of  construction  and  repairs  of  steam  machinery;  of  ordnance;  of 
medicine,  and  of  provisions  and  clothing : 

For  the  Construction  and  Repairs  of  Vessels  at  all  Points  within  the  Confederate 

States. 


Virfiinia,       .            .            -            . 
North  Carolina, 

South  Carolina,         ... 
Gi^orgia,        -            -            .            . 
Alabama,       -            .            .            . 

Whit<*  Men 
be  I  ween 
18  and  45. 

Negroes. 

> 

100 
75 
50 
25 

80 

120 
50 
30 
20 
60 

3:50 

280 

For  the  Construction  and  Repairs  of  Steam  Machinery. 


■ 

Richmond,    - 
Columbus,  Ga. 

- 

White  Men 
between 
18  and  45. 

Negroes. 

48 
95 

43 
93 

14;! 

]3() 

Ordnance. 

Virgrinia, 
North  Carolina, 
Alabama, 
South  Carolina, 
Private  establishments 
ordnance  work,     - 

employed  on 

White  Men 

between 
18  and  45. 

Negroes. 

' 

115 

198 

150 

20 

49 

42 
139 

300 
30 

30 

532 

541 

% 


Medical  Department. 

In  Hospitals,  at  Batteries,  on  Ship  Board,  and  in  the  Medical  Purveyor's: 

Department. 


SfC 


White  men  between  18  and  45, 

Negroes,     -  -  . 


52 

56 


Department  of  Provisions  and  Clothing. 


"White  men  between  ]8  and  45, 
Negroes,     ... 


25 


Recapitulation. 


Construction  and  repairs  of  vessels. 
Construction  and  repairs  of  steam 

niachinerj, 
Ordnance,  _  .  . 

Medical  Department, 
Provisions  and  clothing, 


AVhjte  Men 

•  ' 

between 

Negroen. 

18  and  4.5. 

;i30 

280 

J43 

136 

5;{-> 

541 

52 

56 

','5 

13(1 

10H2 

1143 

The  force  of  meclianics  required  by  this  Department  will  depend 
much  upon  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 

If  our  works  shall  be  exempt  from  interruption,  a  much  larger 
force  than  estimated  for  can  be  very  usefully  employed.  All  our 
white  mechanics  and  workmen  are  under  military  organization, 
armed  and  equipped  for  service,  and  are  frequently  called  into  active 
service. 

With  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

S.  R.  MALI^ORY, 

Secntury  of  the  Navy. 


.4 


COMMUNICATION  FROM  POSTMASTER  GENERAL. 

Post  Office  Department, 

Ric/imond,  Vu.,  Feb.  8,  ls(j.5. 
To  the  President: 

Sir: 

In  answer  to  your  Excelloney's  reference  of  so  niurli 
of  the  Senate's  resolution  of  Januaiy  •24:tU,  as  a]>[)lies  to  the  Post 
Office  Departnient,  which  is  as  follows,  to  wit: 

"  Resolved,  That  th(!  President  of  the  Confederate  States  of  Ame- 
rica, be  respectfully  requested  to  furnish  the  Senate — 

First — With  information  as  to  the  nmiiber  of  white  men  between 
the  ages  of  eighteeu  and  foily-five,  and  of  the  number  of  negroes, 
who,  in  addition  to  thcdi'  own  ofHcers,  may  be  i-equired  for  the  neces- 
sary employments  and  the  proper  discharge  of  the  functions  of  the 
•  '  *  *  *  Post  Office  and  Navy  Departments" — 
I  have  the  honor  to  say,  that  this  Department  has  no  means  of  mak- 
ing an  explicit  aisswi^-  to  the  enquiry  submitted,  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that,  though  contractors  for  carrying  the  mails  on  routes  over 
tt'H  miles  iu  length,  and  the  necessary  drivers  of  post  coaches  and 
hacks,  are  exempted  from  the  perfornjance  of  military  duty  by  the 
act  uf  April  14tli,  ISG;},  the  nuujbei' of  persons  actually  exempted, 
as  will  be  Sf^'u  from  the  facts  herein  aftei-  to  be  stated,  does  not  cor- 
respond with  the  number  which  iuight  be  exempted  under  the  law. 

As  the  nearest  approximation  to  an  answer  in  relation  to  contrac- 
toi-s  and  drivers,  which  the  Department  is  enabled  to  give,  I  submit 
the  following  table,  which  shows  the  numl>er  «»f  routes  under  con- 
tract east  of  the  Mississipj)i  river;  the  number  of  routes  discontinued  ; 
i^he  uumlx'r  undei'  ten  miles  in  length,  on  which  no  exeniptions  are 
allowed;  the  number  of  routes  which  have  been  transferred  from  the 
original  contractors,  on  which  exemptions  are  not  allowed;  and  the 
number  of  routes  let  to  persons  who  are  contractors  on  other  routes, 
and  are  only  entitled  to  exemption  on  one  route — with  a  column 
^liowing  the  toial  number  of  routes  on  whicli  no  exem[)tions  can  be 
allowed,  and  another  showing  the  total  number  of  routes  on  which 
exemptions  might  be  made,  given  by  States  au;i  in  the  aggregate : 


...;r 

'  i 

n3 

s 

4^ 

5  ^ 

QL 

■a  V 

■^  .£  - 

S«2 

s  "2 

Hi 

?  2  o. 

X  ■■, 

V.'" 

X  ■^ 

*« 

«52 

«sr. 

STATES. 

";  - 

z   ^ 

~-~ 

c 

5  c  s 

„  •-  a 

It! 

/5  ^ 

t^ 

"^1 

v< 

c  -^ 

ore 

c 

iz; 

K 

a 

k5       " 

E- 

H  <=  - 

VirjifiiiiH,,     -             -             -             - 

yr>;j 

_ 

19 

() 

19 

44 

2U9 

N'udi  Oirolina,      ... 

2-M 

1 

8 

If) 

10 

'M 

264 

S'ititli  Caiolina,      ... 

124 

1 

5 

17 

18 

4! 

83 

(ie(>r^''i;i,      .... 

]-i 

- 

Vi 

8 

23 

4:5 

141 

Fkivida,       -             -             -             - 

;!6 

- 

•2 

- 

- 

2 

34 

Alubama.    -             -             .             - 

IT" 

- 

h> 

:« 

54 

J21 

Mi.'?is)!ssii)pi, 

]:;•) 

- 

■' 

1 

51 

58 

81 

Totals, 

l:2(iy 

2 

54 

66 

154 

276 

933 

With  this  table,  I  submit  the  following  copy  of  a  communication 
from  the  Bureau  of  Conscription,  showing  the  number  of  persons  now 
actually  exempted  as  njail  contractors  and  as  drivers  of  post  coaches 
and  hacks : 

Confederate  States  of  America, 
War  Department, 

Bureau  of  Conscription, 

Richmod,  Va.,  Feb.  3,  IS65. 

Hon.  John  H.  Reagan,  Postfnostcr  General: 

8iR : 

I  have  the  honor,  in  the  absence  of  Brig.  Gen.  Preston, 
to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  connnunication  of  this  date,  re- 
questing to  be  informed  of  the  nuuiber  of  mail  contractors  and  drivers 
exempted,  and  I  enclose  herewith,  a  tabulated  statement  conveying 
the  information  desired. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)         C.  B.  DUFFIELD, 

A.  A.  G.  8f  Acting  Supt. 

Number  of  Persons  Exempted  as  Mail  Contractors,  Drivers  of  Post  Coaches  and 

Hacks. 


Mail 
Contractors. 

Drivers. 

Total. 

Virginia.            .... 
North  I'arolina,                     ... 
youth  Carolina,                     ... 
Georgia,              .... 
Mi.^-sir-siinji,        -                    .                    .                    - 
Alabau.a,            .... 
Florida               .... 
Ertst  Louisiana, 
East  'J'euiiessee, 

138 

99 

47 

106 

'29 

4ti 

8 

2 

2 

72 
47 
10 
11 

19 

1 

210 
146 

:,7 

117 

29 

H5 

9 

2 

2 

Totals, 

477 

WO 

6:37 

There  are  in  this  Department  tw^enty  clerks  and  one  messenger 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years.  Of  this  number, 
eight  have  been  wounded  and  so  disabled  in  battle  as  to  be  rendered 
unfit  for  military  duty,  and  have  been  discharged,  or  otherwise  honor- 
ably r(>tired  from  the  militnry  service.  Seven  have  been  declared 
unfit  for  military  duty  by  the  proper  military  authorities,  in  conse- 
quence of  permanent  physical  disability;  and  six  would  be  able  to 
perform  military  duty,  but  have  been  detailed,  by  the  proper  military 
authorities,  at  the  request  of  the  Postmnster  General,  on  account  of 
their  long  experience  and  special  skill  in  the  performance  of  their 


respective  duties  in  this  Department.  The  remainder  of  the  clerks 
of  this  Department  are  men  over  fifty  5'eiirs  of  tige,  and  women. 

There  are  in  the  Post  Otfice  of  this  city  thirty-four  clerks.  Of 
these,  fifteen  are  women;  four  are  nnfit  for  military  duty,  and  recom- 
mended by  the  military  board  for  light  duty;  four  are  under  the  age 
of  eighteen,  and  two  are  over  the  age  of  forty-five,  leaving  only  nine 
clerks  fit  for  active  service  in  the  field.  These  are  all  experienced 
clerks,  whose  places  cannot  be  supplied,  and  who  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  proper  management  of  the  office. 

Those  clerks  in  the  Richmond  Post  Office,  who  are  between  the 
ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  have  been  detailed,  upon  application 
by  the  Postmaster  General,  made  in  pursuance  of  General  Orders, 
No.  77,  of  the  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General's  office,  on  the  ground 
of  their  services  being  "  absolutely  indispensable."  Similar  applica- 
tions have  been  made  for  the  detail  of  certain  clerks,  between  those 
ages,  in  the  larger  post  offices  in  the  States  east  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  who  have  been  certified  by  the  postmasters  to  be  experts,  and 
necessary  to  the  efficiency  of  their  offices.  The  Department  is  not 
aware  whether  all  of  these  details  have  been  granted,  nor  has  it  any 
means  of  knowing  how  many  of  those  for  whom  they  have  been  asked, 
are  able-bodied  men,  or  how  many  are  unfit  for  military  duty.  Care 
has  been  taken,  however,  in  applying  for  these  details,  to  limit  them 
to  the  smallest  number  consistent  with  the  efficient  management  of 
the  important  interests  connected  with  the  distribution  and  delivery 
of  the  njails  in  the  larger  post  offices. 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  number  of  clerks,  for  whose 
details  application  has  been  made  by  this  Department,  and  of  the 
post  offices  in  which  they  are  employed,  viz: 

Virsinui. — In  the  Post  Office  at  Lynchburg,  one  clerk.  In  the 
Post  Office  at  Petersburg,  two  clerks. 

Nort/t  Carolina. — Fayetteville,  one  clerk ;  Raleigh,  two  clerks ; 
and  Wilmington,  three  clerks. 

iSoufh  Carolina. — Charleston,  two  clerks ;  Columbia,  three  clerks. 

Georcria — Columbus,  one  clerk;  Macon,  one  clerk;  and  Augusta, 
six  clerks. 

Alabama. — Mobile,  one  clerk ;  and  Montgomery,  one  clerk. 

Mississippi. — For  the  Post  Office  at  Jackson,  one  clerk;  and  at 
Brandon,  one  clerk. 

Application  has  also  been  made,  under  General  Orders,  No.  77, 
above  referred  to,  for  the  details  of  the  route  agents  of  this  Depart- 
ment, between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  engaged  in  its 
service  on  certain  rail  roads  in  the  States  herein  after  to  be  named. 
It  is  probable,  although  the  Department  has  no  knowledge  of  the 
fact  in  all  cases,  that  all  of  these  details  have  been  made  by  the 
proper  military  authorities.  Upon  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties 
entrusted  to  these  officers,  depend  greatly  the  efficient  distribution 
and  delivery  of  th«  mails  along  the  most  important  rail  road  lines  in 
the  country  ;  and  it  is  necessary,  in  addition  to  intelligence  aiid  busi- 
ness qualifications,  that  they  should  be,  as  far  as  practicable,  skilled 
and  experienced  in  those  duties.     It  may  be  well  to  add,  that  many 


of  them  are  old  and  reliable  agents,  who  have  been  in  the  employ- 
ment of  this  and  the  okl  government  for  many  years.  No  route 
agents  have  been  appointed  since  the  passage  of  the  first  Isl'w  of  con- 
scription, except  such  as  have  been  found  for  light  duty  by  competent 
boards,  or  who  liave  been  able  to  present  satisfactory  evidence  that 
they  were  unfit  for  active  service  in  the  field. 

The  number  of  route  agents,  whose  details  have  been  asked  for  by 
this  Department,  is  as  follows,  viz: 

For  Virginia,  10;  for  North  Carolina,  9;  for  South  Carolina,  2; 
for  Georgia,  15 — Total  36. 

Recapitulation. 

No.  of  employees  of  Post  Office  Department  proper,  whose 
details  have  been  applied  for  under  General  Orders,  N«.  77, 
A.  &  I.  G.  O.,  twenty  clerks  and  one  messenger,  -         21 

No.  of  clerks  in  larger  post  offices,  -  -  -         39 

No.  of  route  agents,  -  -  -  -  -         36 

96 
From  this  total  of  96  must  be  taken  fifteen  clerks  in  this  De- 
partment, who  have  been  declared  by  the  military  boards 
unfit  for  military  duty,  by  reason  of  wounds,  disability, 
&c.,  and  four  clerks  in  the  Richmond  Post  Office — making 
in  all,         ....--.         19 

Leaving  number  of  men  detailed,  as  above  stated,  who  may 
be,  so  (iir  as  is  known  to  this  Department,  liable  to  military 
service,      -------77 

This  number  would  doubtless  be  materially  decreased,  for  the 
reasons  already  given,  if  thr  Department  were  in  possession  of  such 
accuiate  information  with  regard  to  the  liability  of  these  parties,  as 
it  would  be  proper  to  embody  in  a  report  of  this  kind. 

I  also  submit  the  following  extracts  from  the  report  of  Dr.  James 
H.  Starr,  Agent  of  the  Post  Office  Department  for  the  States  west  of 
the  JMississippi  river,  as  the  only  approximation  to  the  inlormation 
called  for  by  the  resolution,  wliieli  it  is  in  my  power  to  give,  as  to 
the  country  beyond  the  INIississippi.  And  I  beg  to  call  especial  atten- 
tion to  it,  as  showing  the  indisjiensable  necessity  of  preserving  the 
exeni[)tion  from  military  duty  to  contractors  for  carrying  the  mails 
there,  as  the  only  means  of  keeping  in  operation  the  postal  service. 
The  mails  on  the  great  truid^  r"utes  west  of  the  Mississippi  are 
carried  mainly  in  post  coaches  and  hacks,  and  not  on  rail  roads,  as  on 
this  side  of  that  river.  I  need  not  call  attention  to  the  calamitous 
consequences  which  would  necessarily  flow  from  depriving  a  people, 
so  remote  from  the  capital,  ot"  tlie  means  of  postal  communication. 


Extract  from  the  Rej)ort  of  James  H.  Starr,  Agent  of  the  Post  OJice 
Dtjiarttnent,  Trails- Mississippi,  to  the  Postmaster  General^  October 
31sf,  1864. 

"  Prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Agency,  the  occupation  by  the 
enemy  of  a  portion  of  the  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
the  devastating  effects  of  their  various  expeditions  into  the  interior, 
had  broken  up  mail  connnunicntions  in  large  portions  of  Arkansas 
and  Louisiana  and  a  small  part  of  Texas,  resulting  in  the  suspension 
of  service  on  about  ]  15  of  138  of  the  routes  in  the  State  of  Arkan- 
sas; on  about  150  of  the  170  routes  in  the  State  of  Louisiana;  and 
about  42  of  the  2\o  routes  in  the  State  of  Texas.  Some  purtion  of 
these  results  were  attributable  to  the  want  of  fi^rage  in  the  vicinity 
of  our  own  armies,  and  the  presence  of  banditti  near  the  enemy's 
lines,  and  ii» sparsely  po})ulated  and  unprotected  localities. 

"  In  addition  to  these  facts,  and  owing  to  tlie  embarrassing  inter- 
ruption of  mail  comumnication  with  the  Department  at  Richmond, 
whitvli  hns  existed  from  the  time  when  the  enemy  obtained  possession 
of  the  Mississi[)pi  river,  and  consequent  inability  of  the  Department 
to  obtain  evidence  upon  which  the  accounts  of  contractors  could  be 
adjusted  and  the  amounts  <lue  to  them  paid,  many  contractors,  in 
regions  not  molested  by  the  enemy,  had  been  compelled,  for  want  of 
meiins.  to  abandon  their  undertakings;  and  others,  who  were  not  de- 
pendent upon  mail  contracts  for  exeujption  fiom  military  conscrip- 
tion, finding  that  the  reduced  value  ot  tlie  currency  rendered  their 
contracts  unprofitable,  availed  themselves  of  the  excuse  furnished  by 
the  failure  of  the  Department  to  pay  them  at  the  periods  stipulated, 
to  abandon  their  routes. 

"  Thus  had  the  mail  transportation  west  of  the  Mississippi  been 
reduced  to  a  most  serious  extent." 

"  It  will  be  observed  that  but  little  was  done  in  Arkansas  and 
Louisiana  in  restoring  mail  transportation  during  the  quaiter.  This 
results  partly  from  the  fact  that  the  proximity  of  the  enemy  had 
caused  many  contractors  to  remove  with  tln'ir  property  and  means 
of  transportation  farther  into  the  interior,  and  partly  irom  the  scarcity 
of  f  rage  and  supplies  occasioned  by  the  presence  of  our  own  arujies." 

"  I  will  remark,  however,  that  the  success  of  the  Agency,  in  re- 
newing and  continuing  mail  service,  except  upon  a  few  prominent 
stage  lines,  depends  entiiely  upon  the  exemption  from  military  ser- 
vice which  the  law  secures  to  mail  contractors.  Without  tit  is  ex- 
empti(jn  during  this  period  of  depreciated  currency  and  great  scarcity 
of  horses,  mules  and  carriages  suitable  for  njail  transpoitation,  and 
the  uncertainty,  and  in  some  regfons,  constant  scarcity  of  provisions 
and  forage,  any  efforts  to  furnish  mail  facilities  would  prove  un- 
availing." 

I  will  add,  that  it  is  not  probable  any  contract  for  carrying  the 


9 

mail  east  or  west  of  the  Mississippi,  other  than  on  rail  roads,  on 
which  exemptions  are  allowed  for  other  reasons,  can  now  be  made 
which  does  not  involve  exemption  from  military  duty.  And  this  ap- 
l)lie.s  equally  to  the  mail  messenger  service,  by  which  the  mails  are 
carried  between  post  offices  and  rail  road  depots,  and  without  which 
they  cannot  be  carried  even  on  the  rail  roads. 

This  response  to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  has  been  delayed  on 
account  of  the  amount  of  labor  which  the  ascertainment  of  the  flicts 
presented  involved. 

With  grcMt  respect, 

Your  Excellency's  obed't  serv't, 

JOHN  H.  REAGAN, 

Posfma  .Icr  Gnicral. 


r. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


